


To the Edge of the Universe

by antonomasia09



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Episode: s06e02 Razor's Edge, Episode: s06e04 The Colony, Episode: s06e05 The Black Paladins, Keith and Krolia's two years on the space whale, Keith/Shiro (Voltron) Angst, Kuron is Shiro (Voltron)'s Clone, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-19
Updated: 2018-06-19
Packaged: 2019-05-25 06:23:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14970971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/antonomasia09/pseuds/antonomasia09
Summary: Keith sees flashes of the future, and tries to prepare.





	To the Edge of the Universe

**Author's Note:**

> "We may go to the edge of the universe, but we're going to land right on you: in your heart, in your soul, in your mind." - Neil deGrasse Tyson

Keith has been having nightmares ever since that glimpse of the future, of Shiro with a snarl and glowing purple eyes. Sometimes, he dreams Shiro’s Galra arm is sinking into his chest. Sometimes it’s his own sword spitting Shiro. He prefers the ones where Shiro kills him.

“Is there anything I can do to change what I’ve seen?” he asks Krolia as they sit in front of their cave, skinning a pair of space rabbits for dinner. The animal’s blood is purple not red, but Keith is still having trouble looking at his knife covered in it.

Krolia shrugs. “It can’t hurt to try,” she says.

They brainstorm together. Keith wracks his brain for the magic words that will snap Shiro out of whatever fugue state he seems to be stuck in. He tries them out in his dreams every night, to no avail.

“Tell me about him,” Krolia asks, so Keith does. He describes Shiro’s steady and grounding presence, his oddly dark sense of humor, and the way he couldn’t stop grinning for a week after being selected for the Kerberos mission but refused to tell Keith why until the official announcement was made. He talks about all the times Shiro helped him study for a test even though he should have been doing his own work, and all the times they went tearing through the desert on Keith’s hoverbike, egging each other on to go even faster.

“You love him,” she says. “Does he know?”

“I…he…” splutters Keith. He can’t deny it, but he can’t admit it either. Because, truthfully, he’s not sure if Shiro loves him back. And if he says the words only to have Shiro turn away in disgust, or find out that Shiro befriended him merely out of pity for an orphan boy, it would break him.

The flashes keep coming. Shiro aiming a burning fist straight at Keith’s face, which Keith barely dodges in time. Shiro cutting through a support beam and toppling a metal tower between them, giving Keith a moment to catch the breath in his burning lungs.

“I can’t reason with him,” Keith tells Krolia. “It’s like he doesn’t even hear me.”

“Then you’ll have to defeat him in combat,” she says.

From then on, nearly every moment that isn’t spent on eating or hunting or sleeping is spent sparring. Keith practices with his knife, both in its sleeping and its woken forms, and they carve a piece of wood to resemble the sword his bayard becomes. Krolia critiques his form, teaches him a few new disarming techniques, and pushes him every day until he collapses to his knees gasping for breath.

They analyze Shiro’s fighting style as well. Sometimes, when the light flashes, it takes them back to Keith’s memories of sparring with Shiro at the Garrison, or Shiro fighting the Blade of Marmora to defend Keith’s honor, or even the scuffle with Sven and Slav in the alternate reality.

Krolia points out Shiro’s weaknesses - his lack of range, the blindspots from his helmet. They work out what moves are most effective against him, what he counters easily, and what types of feints he usually falls for. Keith has been growing, both in height and in muscle mass, but he will never be as big as Shiro. If he is to defeat him, Keith will have to fight smart.

They’re aiming to incapacitate rather than kill, and preferably not even permanently injure. But Krolia does show Keith a few lethal moves that the Blade never taught him, and forces him to practice them until the movements come naturally. He doesn’t think he could use them against Shiro - in fact, the nightmares get worse for awhile - but she insists that he learn them regardless. 

“I’ve only just found my son,” she says. “I’m not ready to lose you.”

There’s one thing he hasn’t dared bring up to Krolia: the only flashes of the future that Keith is getting are of this battle. Nothing afterwards. Keith is an excellent fighter, fast and agile, but Shiro is nearly as quick on his feet, and he spent an entire year fighting for his life to entertain the Galra. Even with Krolia’s advice and training, Keith doesn’t think he can win. And he’s pretty sure that losing means death.

***

When Keith steps off the ancient Altean shuttle in the hangar bay of the Castle of Lions and sees Shiro, his heart stops for a moment. He’s spent two entire years thinking about Shiro, dreaming about him, remembering every encouraging word Shiro has said to him and every time Shiro looked at him with disappointment. He’s half-expecting Shiro to attack right then and there, but Shiro just looks shell-shocked at the sight of him, and Keith wonders if maybe the future he saw wasn’t real after all.

Krolia shakes Shiro’s hand and thanks him for taking care of Keith when she couldn’t. Shiro looks honestly thrilled. Keith meets his eyes, and they grin at each other, just like old times. Despite the urgency of the situation, Keith lets himself relax a little. This is _Shiro_ , and Shiro would never hurt him.

The good feeling lasts until Lotor’s generals breach the hangar bay, and Shiro collapses to the ground with his head in his hands. Lance barks out orders, sending Keith to deal with the intruders. Keith’s stomach is churning. It takes everything in him to turn away from Shiro, but Lance is right. There’s nothing Keith can do for Shiro right now, and stopping Lotor’s generals from carrying out their plan is of paramount importance.

But it turns out it’s all in vain as he reaches the hangar, only to find Lotor’s comet ships already taking off. He dives out of the way as one turns to fire, and slides into a wall, knocking the breath out of him. He barely hears Allura’s panicked announcement that Shiro has gone mad. By the time he’s recovered enough to stand, Shiro is long gone, and Lotor with him.

There’s no time to despair at the inevitability of the future he saw. They have to form Voltron if they’re to have any hope of defeating Lotor and rescuing Shiro. Keith schools his face to reflect nothing but determination as he heads towards the Black Lion, but he knows that Krolia is watching him walk away, wondering if this is the last time she’ll see him.

***

“Hello, Keith,” says Shiro-who-isn’t-Shiro. Shiro-who-is-a-clone. His voice is deep and menacing, his stance is aggressive, and he regards Keith without a hint of familiarity. Keith fights down a sob, and turns to face his nightmare.


End file.
